i have studied two styles "free style karate" and Shorin ryu matsumura seito suiken" i studied freestyle for two years but the other style is by far my favorate it was founded in japan by bushi matsumura and Hohan Soken. it is the style i will stick with for the rest of my life

Hey Suiken. I'm gald you like Shorin ryu Matsumura Seito. There are very few true practioners.

Of note MSSR was NOT founded in Japan. It was founded on Okinawa. Soken Sensei named his family style (passed directly from Sokon "Bushi" Matsumura to Nabe Matsumura to Hohan Soken) Matsumura Seito in the 1950's.

Prior to that it was refered to as Machimura Shuri-te. The history is very interesting and distinguished.

Good luck in your Seito training. I am always looking for practioners to study with when I travel. Where do you live? and who is your Sensei? It is possible that I may know him/her.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tsuji:I practice Shotokan karate, and I believe it to be my favorite of the systems I've tried so far. Those who are trained in this style use strong dynamics, low stances, aggressive technique, and the famous Kiai. Shotokan emphasizes the use of the Ki in an explosive manner so as to "Kill with one blow" and therefore is very dangerous, so control of strikes is greatly stressed. This is why there is no "full contact" sparring in Shotokan, because it would be too dangerous. Instead, Karateka are taught during sparring to stop their strikes somewhere around 3 centimeters from the target, or one Sun (pronounced 'soon').[/QUOTE]

I also train in Shotokan karate, i am a black belt and i agree with this statement, i have tried tae kwon do, boxing, kenpo karate and i feel that shotokan was the best fitting for me.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Master:I've studied my share of martial arts over 15 years and I decided that I cant stick with just one style so i made up my own art so I hav a more practical way of fighting designed for me[/QUOTE]

What exactly makes you a "master"? and what have you named your art? What share of martial arts have you studied? [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif[/IMG] "Master" and "Grandmaster" are terms that only egotists and deluded frauds ever apply to themselves. There are no masters. There are no Grandmasters. We are all students, always, period. Martial arts are not easy to learn. Fighting is a nasty, brutal business. Learning to fight effectively, and reaping the benefits that came from this training, will be difficult. A good teacher will let you know that.

[QUOTE]This is why there is no "full contact" sparring in Shotokan, because it would be too dangerous. Instead, Karateka are taught during sparring to stop their strikes somewhere around 3 centimeters from the target, or one Sun (pronounced 'soon').[/QUOTE]

Translation: We firmly believe that how you train in the gym is how you will fight on the street.

This is why we train to not hit people.

Because people are dirty, and it's much better to be a huge vagina who is too scared to spar than to voluntarily touch a stranger.

I think when sparring you definitely have to hit eachother somewhat forcefully, but controlled. If you don't you will be shocked when you are actually hit.It's not any more dangerous for your style than any other. Use padded gloves and whack away! [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif[/IMG]